Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

Autumn Colours

I have been bogged down with life this past week.  I have no excuse for not posting and I am vowing not to let my general busyness interrupt my creativity and inspiration.  That is my pre-New Year's resolution.

Photo by me.  The bowl is shaped like a banana leaf.  I bought it in Korea.  Its deep green hue makes it perfect as a base for this display.  I've used faux gourds to decorate our apartment as my real ones kept rotting from year to year.

Photo by me.

I am so inspired by fall.  It's earthy, rich shades make me want to bake things that smell like pumpkin and decorate with rust tones.  I've decorated our table and put some fall and Hallowe'en decorations up around the place.  Fall is my second favourite season.  It runs a close second to winter.  Mmmmmmmm....September to December are the best months, in my opinion.

Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

Recipe Sunday: Salsa

Water colour by me.

For today's Recipe Sunday, I decided to do something different.  I was catching up on reading the archives of Geninne's Art Blog and came across a link to They Draw and Cook, a blog where artists illustrate their favourite recipes.  I thought I would give it a try.  I decided to break my water colours up into individual pictures, instead of drawing it on one sheet.  I'm a rebel that way.

I'm quite proud of this little recipe.  There was a little Mexican restaurant/food store near where I used to live.  They had divine salsa which you could buy in plastic containers and take home.  It was rather expensive (OK, really expensive), but I would buy it every once in a while.  It was so good, when the salsa was finished, I would dip my tortilla chips in the leftover salsa water.  Mmmmmmmm.  Finally, one day, I realized I should try making it so I could always have it on hand and so I wouldn't have to pay so much for it.  Here is my version. 

You will need:

Water colour by me.

Water colour by me.

Water colour by me.

Water colour by me.

Water colour by me.

Method:

Mix the diced tomatoes, the diced onions and the chopped cilantro in a bowl and stir.  Add the salt and shake on the Tabasco sauce.  [I prefer green Tabasco sauce because I think it gives a more gentle heat and a better flavour than the red version.  Feel free to use red hot sauce if you prefer.]  Stir the salsa again and put it into the fridge.  Leave it for 30 minutes (if you can).  Enjoy with tortilla chips. 

I also really like to make a baked potato and fill it with cottage cheese and salsa.  Try it.  It's good, I promise. 

Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

A Thousand Paper Cranes

Today's post is inspired by the story of Sadako.  Sadako Sasaki lived in Hiroshima, Japan, when the atomic bomb was dropped.  She was two at the time.  This exposure at such close range to the radiation from the bomb caused Sadako to develop leukemia when she was in elementary school.  She entered the hospital when she was twelve years old and her family was told she'd have less than a year to live.

One day, Sadako's friend Chizuko came to visit and folded a paper crane for her out of golden paper.  Chizuko told Sadako that, according to Japanese lore, if she were able to fold one thousand cranes, she would be granted one wish.

Sadako achieved her goal and kept folding.  Sadly, her wish was not granted, and she died in October, 1955.  In 1958, a bronze statue of Sadako was unveiled at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.  At the foot of the statue, the following words are engraved:

"This is our cry.  This is our prayer.  Peace on Earth."

For more information on Sadako, read here.  For a very moving fictionalized version of Sadako's life, including detailed instructions on how to fold a paper crane, please read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr.  It's a lovely book.

I folded six cranes and strung them together to make a mobile, using thread to hold them and beads to make it pretty.  I used blue as it matches the accents in our kitchen (the crane chain is hung in our dining area) and because it's a colour my husband can live with (I had originally thought about using reds and pinks).  I hope you enjoy the results and are inspired to make something beautiful for your own home.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

Pillow Book Friday

Sei Shonagon was a noblewoman living in the Japanese court in the 11th century.  While she served the Empress, she wrote her famous "Pillow Book", containing poetry, gossip, her observances and lists.  Well-to-do Japanese ladies of the time were known to keep notebooks near their beds in which to record stray thoughts and dreams.  Sei made this form of writing famous.  She kept lists of things she liked and disliked, things that depressed her, elegant things, things that were embarrassing and lists of anything else that caught her fancy.

In honour of Shonagon and her "Pillow Book", I wish to introduce my own version with "Pillow Book Friday".  Every Friday, I will make lists of things that are important to me.  Today, I thought I would combine two things I'm obsessed with: travelling and reading.  So, today's list is all about travel literature.  When I'm not able to travel, I love to curl up with a good book and travel in my mind, setting up house, eating decadent food and meeting new people vicariously through the pages of well-written experience.  I have accrued quite a collection of these books myself.  My list for this week contains my favourites.

Travel books I've read and highly recommend:

Photo from here.

An Embarrassment of Mangoes chronicles Ann Vanderhoof's two year sailboat journey though the Caribbean with her husband, Steve.  I mentioned it briefly here.  This book makes me feel like I'm a stowaway on their sailboat, Receta.  I hope they don't find me.

Photo from here.

Under the Tuscan Sun, the quintessential travel literature read by Frances Mayes, is a beautifully written, lyrical ode to life in Italy.  I've read and re-read this book so many times it's like a familiar, favourite sweater.  It makes me want to pack everything in, buy a tumble-down villa and start restoring.

Photo from here.

A trip to a London bespoke perfume maker turns into a multi-country odyssey as Celia Lytton tries to track down the origins of all of the ingredients found in her own personal scent.  The Scent Trail was as magical as its name.

Photo from here.

I picked up Led By Destiny in a London bookstore while I was living my own dreams.  A Polish couple, Kinga and Chopin, hitchhike around the world for five years, starting with less than $600, two plane tickets to New York and a dream.  The contents of the book and its premise are all the more poignant with the knowledge of Kinga's death due to malaria in Africa while living her dream.

Photo from here.

Kate T. Williamson studied sock design in Japan for a year.  She chronicled her time there in paint in A Year in Japan.  The beautiful images in this book need to be drunk in and savoured.

Photo from here.

Marlena de Blasi is making every moment of her life count.  She lives vividly and recounts the details lovingly and descriptively in her books (I have also read A Thousand Days in Venice and A Thousand Days in Tuscany, but The Lady in the Palazzo is my favourite of the three).  The Lady in the Palazzo chronicles her wait, alongside her husband, for their home in Orvieto to be renovated.

Photo from here.

I have a soft-spot for travel lit dealing with Morocco.  My husband is Moroccan and Morocco is a second home to me.  Tahir Shah and his family chose adventure in Casablanca at The Caliph's House over the security of their London lives.  This story is hilarious and the characters are memorable.

Photo from here.

Miranda Innes moves from Spain to Morocco and attempts to set up house in Marrakech.  Cinnamon City is another tale of following your heart and taking chances in another country.  Every last detail of this novel is exquisite.

Photo from here.

Lost on Planet China tells of the zany adventures of J. Maarten Troost in China.  Troost is not big on planning and reservations, and I don't know how much he ends up understanding about China and the Chinese, but it's a funny and engaging read.

What are your favourite travel lit reads?  I am always looking for recommendations!

Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

The Pomegranate Manifesto

It's not often that you will find me posting an advertisement for a company on my space.  I have to say, though, I was very impressed by the Holstee Manifesto.  I was so inspired that I created my rules to live by, also known as "The Pomegranate Manifesto".  What are your rules to live by?

The Holstee Manifesto.  From here.

The Pomegranate Manifesto.

Manifesto and photo by me.

Photo of the Day

Photo by me.

While I Was Away...

My husband and I went to visit my mom and my sister for Thanksgiving this weekend.  We had an amazing time, filled with family, laughter, sightseeing and food!  We came back rested, pampered and full.  As promised, here is a photo-journal of our weekend.

Friday

Here are a few photos of the lovely food we ate this weekend.  My mom is a wonderful cook.  That's her hand in the third photo, preparing the root vegetables for Sunday's dinner.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Saturday

On Saturday, we went for a drive through the countryside to try to find the perfect diner.  I think we succeeded.  The diner we went to had a huge salt and pepper shaker collection on display lining the walls of the restaurant.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Sunday

Waiting for Thanksgiving dinner turned into an impromptu photo shoot in my mom's back yard.  I've been here with my camera before!  This time it was a slightly more somber fall garden I captured.  My sister also made a good model for my camera.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Monday

On Monday, we visited a few national parks.  The first photo was taken at Cameron Lake.  At Stamp Falls (photos 2 - 5), the salmon were spawning.  The houseboats in the rain on Great Central Lake (photos 6 - 8) looked like the perfect place to curl up with a good book in front of the fireplace.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.